Unexpected
by kikila
Summary: Just when she'd finally thought herself free of him, he came back to haunt her in the form of her unborn child.


**A plot bunny I had to write down. More info at the bottom, though BTW Zhen is a Chinese name meaning kindness or mercy. Ursa is looking back as she undergoes the birth, and afterwards she is looking forward, so until then it is written in past tense, and afterward is written in the present.**

* * *

**Month One**

It had been one day since she dropped Ozai's watchers. One week since she'd last been at home. Ursa looked around the small Earth Kingdom market, watching for Fire Nation nationals from the corners of her eyes. It was unlikely, of course, that they'd recognize her as their second prince's wife, though now, she supposed, he was no longer a prince, or a second one at that.

Ozai always got what he wanted, didn't he. She could try and try, as hard as she could, but in the end, she always lost. It was inevitable. She tried to protect her children, keep them away from him, stop them from becoming corrupted. But she had failed, and now they were alone, alone with their monstrous father who wouldn't-couldn't-love them the way that children needed to be loved.

Ozai took. He took and took and took. He took her babies, he took his brother's throne, he took, in a way, his father's life, and his mother's. He controlled, too. He took things that people cared about and used it against them, used it to make them do what he wanted.

But he did not control her anymore, did he? No. His watchers were gone, believing that she had died. She was far beyond his reach, here in the distant Earth Kingdom. He couldn't use her children against her anymore. Finally, finally, she was free.

She walked into the market square, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. At one gaudily decorated stall, she purchased a few mangoes and some meat, at another she bought a dark green cloak. As she left the market, she felt light, and dizzy. Her head spun a little bit. She retched, heavily, all over the dry earth. She passed it off as the heat and kept moving on.

* * *

**Month Two**

In every town, Ursa garnered looks from the populace. Some looks were pitying, as they assumed her to be some half-earth, half-fire bastard, an outcast wherever she went. Other looks were full of hatred, as they blamed her nationality for their own pain and suffering. (They weren't really wrong, she supposed)

She didn't know where she was, only that it was hot in the day-as hot as her own home in the Fire Nation-and cold at night, cold as she imagined the North Pole must be. She simply traveled on, making her way east. Perhaps she might find safety in that last vestige of Earth Kingdom glory, the great and mighty city of Ba Sing Se.

Rarely did she allow herself to think of home. It was only at night, when darkness surrounded her and the cold relieved her throbbing feet and sore chest, that she remembered. She remembered Zuko, when he was born, how his tiny body had felt in her arms and how she had wondered at his beauty, amazed that she created this small, perfect thing. Then she remembered what sweet child he was, how he loved to play with animals and how he was kind and gentle. He could survive without her, she was sure, and though it would be hard, when Ozai died he would change her homeland for the better, and this would all be worth it.

But while the memories of Zuko were bittersweet and tinged with hope, the memories of Azula filled her with sadness and despair. Azula needed her, needed her desperately. Azula would not be able to resist Ozai's ideals, resist his nature. She remembered Azula's birth as well, remembered it even better than Zuko's, because while he was a son who would be nurtured by his father, Azula was a daughter, _her_ daughter, who would be all hers for eighteen years until her marriage. And so it went, until Azula's firebending became prodigal and Ozai, following the basic grain of his nature, took her and dumped his son.

After these dreams, she always woke up covered in sweat, and nauseous. She often threw up, too. But she couldn't stop remembering, couldn't stop dreaming, couldn't stop _loving _the family she'd been cruelly ripped away from.

* * *

**Month Three**

Something was wrong. As she walked into town, Ursa felt heavy, solid. After weeks on the road with minimal food, she should have lost weight, and she had. Her arms were sticklike and her legs were too, but her breasts and stomach, her hips, were slightly swollen, and she couldn't explain it.

In this town, the market was huge. Gaoling, it was called, and it was one of the richest towns in the Southern Earth Kingdom. Neither Azulon or Sozin had ever bothered with it, and she doubted that Ozai would, either. The size made her feel safe, too, because with this many people walking around, she was less likely to be noticed.

The food selection here was excellent. There were even a few Fire Nation foods, like ash bananas, which she bought. The sticky-sweet taste she had always hated before alleviated the homesickness, at least for a while. Maybe the next stall would have fire flakes. She longed for the spicyness of Fire Nation cuisine like never before… Then Ursa's world went black.

"Miss? Miss, are you okay?" A round, gray haired man stood over her-Iroh!- and she opened her eyes wide to see him. Her vision clouded once more with disappointment when she realized that the many was not, in fact, Iroh, but the old shopkeeper who sold her ash bananas. "You fainted," he said, "and I was wondering if you were okay."

A crowd of people had gathered around, and she cursed herself. So much for not attracting attention. The old man helped her up, and she thanked him quickly, and then walked away. But it worried her. Why was she fainting? She was tired, true, and hungry, but not so tired and hungry that she was at risk of collapsing from exhaustion and hunger.

Her brisk pace away from the stall led her past a family, out shopping. There was a woman, a man, and a small little girl, running ahead of them and playing with their ball. The man had his arm around the woman, protectively. The woman was smiling, glowing, her hands placed across her stomach. Her wide, round stomach, which strained her bright green dress…

Ursa felt sick again. When was the last time she had menstruated? Not since before she left home. That put her last period about four months ago, give or take. When was the last time she and Ozai had done… No! Her head spun. No, no, no. She couldn't be. It couldn't be! Just when she'd finally thought herself free of him, he came back to haunt her in the form of the child she now realized was growing within her.

* * *

**Month Four**

She was gaining weight quickly now. She no longer vomited so frequently, though, which was a good thing. She knew from experience that by the end of the next month she'd show, show properly, and then she'd have to move on.

In a town seventy some miles north of Gaoling, she had taken work at a tavern, serving drinks and the like to large, rough men. It was not an ideal job, nor a pleasant one, but she needed the money, for the sum she had brought with her from the Fire Nation was running low. She didn't know how she'd walked so far in just two weeks. Maybe it was the shock and numbness that came from her discovery that she was with child.

Now, of course, she needed a plan. Earn some money here, and then make her way even farther north to Ba Sing Se. There, she and her child could live in anonymity, safe among the hordes of refugees.

"Guan-yin! Get down here, we've got customers!" Ursa flinched at her Earth Kingdom name-she'd never gotten quite used to it. She rushed downstairs to help Mrs. Fai, the tavern's proprietor.

The tavern was full of rowdy customers. Leering men with scantily clad women, soldiers drinking away memories of battle, even a few bounty hunters. Ursa moved through them clumsily, her weight gain hindering her former grace. She was careful to avoid the thick plumes of hookah smoke, because she knew they might damage her baby.

The tavern didn't clear out until the earliest hours of the morning. After she cleared away the tables and swept up, Ursa finally retreated to her hard pallet. There she dreamed, of Ozai and babies, blood and poison, of somewhere she thought she'd left behind.

* * *

**Month Five**

"Get out! Get out of my tavern, you slut, and don't come back!" Mrs. Fai yelled angrily. She threw Ursa's pack out after her and slammed the door shut in her face.

Ursa knew she should have left earlier. She should have left before, when she knew she was just beginning to show, should have left before Mrs. Fai noticed. But Mrs. Fai had noticed, and she had fell upon Ursa, swearing at her and calling her names, telling her that no girl of _hers _was going to have some bastard child in her tavern.

But Ursa was no girl. She was a grown woman, already twice a mother. And the baby was not illegitimate-as much as she hated Ozai, she was still his wife. However, Mrs. Fai did not know that, Mrs. Fai could not know that. So Ursa left, hoisting her pack on her shoulders, walking north to Ba Sing Se.

* * *

**Month Six**

In some ways, her large stomach made her journey easier. People were more likely to take pity on a lonely pregnant woman, trying to make her way to Ba Sing Se. Even her story, the one she told to explain her condition, was invented for sympathy.

She was from the southwest, and had lived with her parents and husband in a village along the coast. When the Fire Nation came, they had killed her family, and one of the occupying soldiers had gotten her with child. Now she was trying to get to Ba Sing Se, to live with her sister who had immigrated there years ago.

As she sat in the rumbling wagon, courtesy of a kind farmer and his wife, her hands clasped over her stomach, she thought of her other babies, faraway in a foreign country. They would be bigger now, she was sure, taller and stronger and smarter. She regretted that she'd never see it, never see her beautiful children become teenagers and adults, never see them have their own children. They'd never see their brand new sibling, either, and their little brother or sister would grow up without siblings or a father.

A father. She almost, just almost, wished that Ozai was here, wished that he could be with her. He'd been kind during her other pregnancies, she was remembering that now. He'd been kinder, before. Before Azula became a firebending prodigy. After that, he'd grown colder and crueler until she could barely remember what he was once like. He'd ruined everything, ruined their family and their lives. She hadn't always hated him, but she did now, and she would forever, and that was the reason she never wanted him to see this child.

She jolted upright. The farmer's kind wife, Mengmei, looked up. "Are you all right, Guan-yin?"

"The baby…" she whispered, and Mengmei looked worried.

"Is it okay? Does it hurt you?" Mengmei had seven children, back on the farm, and felt deeply for Ursa.

"No," Ursa said, faintly, "it's, it's _moving_." It was moving faintly underneath her hands, and she could just see it there, wriggling just the way Zuko and Azula had, moving its tiny hands and feet, and exploring the small world it lived in. She didn't know why this amazed her so much. She'd felt it before, in her own belly when she was pregnant before, and it Liu Na's when she was pregnant with Lu Ten. But this time, it was like the first time all over again, when she first felt Zuko and had begun to sob with joy.

Mengmei smiled and moved closer to Ursa, moving her hand over Ursa's stomach.

"It's kicker, Guan-yin. This little one's got a lot of fire in 'em." _You don't know how right you are_, Ursa thought.

* * *

**Month Seven**

Ursa was on a boat. As a general rule, Ursa liked boats. Or at least, she thought she did. But the smooth Imperial Cruisers she'd ridden on the Fire Nation were nothing like the rickety Earth Kingdom ferry from Full Moon Bay.

Her stomach was huge now, bigger than it had ever been before. She felt like she was going to pop, burst open right here in the middle of the deck, though she knew she had a couple of months left before it was time to give birth.

There was a lurching sensation in her stomach, and she knew it had nothing to do with the baby. No one from home could reach her here, she knew that. Even Iroh, the greatest general in the Fire Nation, had not been able to breach the inner wall of the impenetrable city. But the thought of Ozai haunted her. She thought he had left, long ago, when she blocked him from her memories and thought only of those she cared about, like her children, her parents, her grandmother.

Ozai was stubborn, though, and he refused to go away. He came back in her dreams, smirking at her, promising to get her and her unborn child, telling her that he'd killed Zuko and broken Azula and that now he was coming for her, coming for _her_… And sometimes her baby _was_ Ozai, born all over again, with those cruel eyes and that awful beard she'd begged him not to grow. And she knew it was ridiculous, babies couldn't have beards, Ozai thought she was dead, and there was no reason to fear anything.

She was Guan-yin now, a refugee from the southwestern coast, and she did not know Fire Lord Ozai. That was true, though, because she _didn't _know Fire Lord Ozai. She knew Prince Ozai, but Fire Lord Ozai was someone she'd never met. Someone she never wanted to meet.

* * *

**Month Eight**

Ba Sing Se was huge. The Capital City at home was big, but neat. The streets were orderly and laid out. In Ba Sing Se, at least in the Lower Ring, the streets were chaotic and confused. People lived on top of each other, literally, in square, boxlike apartments.

It was strange to Ursa, who got herself a job in at a seamstresses' workshop. Twelve of them worked there, together, for nine hours a day, working quickly and nimbly and talking about their lives. The owner of the shop was the kind and rotund Mrs. Liye, who quickly insisted that Ursa call her Aiwe.

Most of the women there were Ursa's age, perhaps a little younger, excepting Mrs. Liye, who was an older widow. They were all incredibly kind to Ursa, adopting her into their circle. They exclaimed over her kicking baby, cried over her sad story, told her tales of their own children. She loved them, loved her job, though it was hard and paid little.

The only wrong thing about it was that this place wasn't _home_. She wished it could be, but it wasn't. Home was still the Fire Nation, still the Capital City, set in its crater and steaming with heat. Home was the fluttering silk curtains and gilded chairs of the palace, where she could still see Zuko and Azula hiding behind, their game of hide and seek at a checkmate.

Her apartment was too small, her clothes too rough, her food too bland. She knew it was silly to miss something she would never see again, miss there when she was _here_. She was here and that was _how it was_. She couldn't change it; she could only accept it and move on. _How philosophical, _she thought, _I must be channeling Iroh._

* * *

**Month Nine**

It would be time soon. A mother always knew when the time was near, and an experienced mother like Ursa knew the signs well. Her stomach sagged, her back hurt constantly, and the kicking in her stomach she'd once found miraculous now pained her, causing her to drop her stitching in shock.

The baby was a firebender, that was for sure. She had carried firebenders before, and the heat that flowed through her body, manifesting itself in a near feverish body temperature. Sometimes she even coughed fire, a phenomenon that was difficult to hide, though not impossible. Ursa worried, a little bit, about raising a firebender _here_, where practically half the population was composed of refugees_ fleeing_ firebenders.

Actually, Ursa worried about being able to raise her child at all. Though Ozai hadn't been much of a father recently, he'd helped at the beginning, and the help he'd given then had been invaluable. And with her scant pay, taking care of two people would be a stretch. She loved her job, and her friends, and she knew it could be much worse, but the money… Oh, money. She'd never had to worry about it before.

More than the thought of raising a child alone, however, was that she was lonely. She came home every night to an empty apartment; she woke up to an empty bed. A child would break up her solitary life, but a newborn couldn't talk. A newborn couldn't eat dinner with her and laugh with her, listen to her secrets. Despite the fact that she was surrounded by more people than she'd ever even known existed, that she had real friends, that she was free, Ursa felt lonelier than she'd ever been before.

It happened on her day off. Ursa and her friend Huali were in an apothecary, looking for medicines to help Ursa's prelabor cramps. Huali was talking animatedly, recommending different herbs and talking about her own children.

"I think you should get some motherwort, Guan-yin. You might not need it until labor begins, but when it does, you and your midwife will definitely want some on ha-" Huali stopped as Ursa fell to the floor, writhing.

The contractions had begun. Ursa could feel her abdomen, could feel her muscles working to open a passage for her newborn to enter the world through. Huali ran for help, screaming for the owner of the apothecary. The apothecary's owner, Deshi, rushed out from the back room upon hearing her.

"My sister is a midwife," he said, "I will get her." He ran rapidly from the room.

Ursa barely heard him. She didn't remember it hurting this much, or happening so fast. How had she ever done this before? How had she done it twice? How did any woman stand to do this, to feel this pain? But, of course, she already knew the answer. The child that came from her toil would be worth every drop of sweat and blood. To know that you created something so wonderful, _could _create something so wonderful, was the most beautiful feeling in the world.

Deshi's sister, Min Yee, came quickly. She knelt beside Ursa, and, with Deshi's help, they carried her to Deshi's apartment above the shop. Deshi began to mix herbs, and Min Yee applied them with an expert's touch. Huali held Ursa's hand and told her about motherhood. Ursa already knew, of course, but Huali's kind words touched her, and soothed her through the labor.

Hours had passed. The baby's head had not yet come out, and Ursa's strength was wavering. She could feel the baby coming, so why hadn't its head popped out?

"The baby!" Huali's shout is joyful noise to Ursa's ears as the baby's head slips out. It only takes a few minutes for the baby to come out completely, and before Ursa knows it, she is holding in her hands a tiny, wrinkled child, its eyes wide. It does not cry, it simply looks at her with large, golden eyes. Ozai's eyes. But while his eyes are cold and calculating, this infant's eyes are innocent, guileless.

"You have a daughter, Guan-yin!" Min Yee exclaims.

"What will you name her?" It is not Huali who asks this question, but quiet Deshi, the apothecarist. He is staring at her with a look of awe, and it is strange, but not uncomfortable.

Ursa did not think about baby names. It is not like it was with Zuko and Azula, where the names had to be chosen carefully, so as not to offend anyone. She wishes she could name the girl after her beloved grandmother, Ta Min, but Ta Min is a Fire Nation name. What does she want for her child? She wants her to be clever, and talented, of course, but most of all, she wants her to be _kind_. Kindness…

"Zhen. Her name… Zhen." Ursa grins widely as she says it.

"So the spirits will bless her with kindness?" Deshi inquires, the awestruck expression still firmly plastered on his face.

"Yes." Ursa replies, and Huali and Min Yee smile.

"She's so beautiful," Huali says wistfully, "I have three sons, but I've yet to get a daughter." She pats Ursa's shoulder, her face still covered in giddy smile.

"We need to swaddle the baby," Min Yee says, reaching for a pile of swaddling clothes," and we should probably contact your husband. I'm sure he'd like to meet his new daughter." She gives Ursa a knowing look. Huali looks back and forth between Ursa and Min Yee, and sighs.

"Min Yee, Guan-yin…doesn't really have a husband. She and well, the Fire Nation invaded, and you know, Guan-yin's so pretty…" Huali blushes and gives Ursa a pleading look.

Min Yee looks apologetic. "Well, then, we should get you home. Do you live alone?" she questions Ursa, looking very worried. Huali nods slightly. Min Yee snorts. "You cannot raise a child all alone. How will you manage?"

"She can stay here," Deshi looks nervous as he offers, but adamant,"I have room."

Ursa opens her mouth to refuse. She is not living off of anyone's charity. She doesn't need financial help-well, she does, but she won't take it from a random man, nice as he and his sister may be. However, Min Yee cuts her off.

"That sounds wonderful. She can stay in this bedroom." Min Yee gives Ursa a look. Ursa immediately shuts up, focusing instead on the baby in her arms. She kisses Zhen's miniature forehead, nuzzles Zhen to her face. She barely hears as Huali offers to pick up her belongings from her apartment, and tell Aiwe-Mrs. Liye-that Ursa had given birth. Min Yee leaves to go get some food, and Ursa is suddenly alone with Deshi.

"I hope you don't mind," he pauses slightly, "that I said you could stay here, but you…baby…alone…" He stops, suddenly embarrassed. He blushes a little bit, which is sweet, and he smiles at Ursa. His hand is near hers and their eyes meet and Ursa feels something. Something good. And she knows now that her place is here now. The Fire Nation is her past, and here with Zhen-maybe even with Deshi, too-is her future. And a better future she couldn't imagine.

* * *

**I've had this plot bunny forever, and I finally tamed it. ****I will eventually write a full chaptered sequel about Zhen, Ursa and Deshi, but I only like to have one multichap at a time, so it won't be until I finish TRD. (For more information about the sequel, please see my profile) Please note as well-I have never given birth, nor been pregnant, so I mostly interrogated my mother and grandmother for information. Every time I see a review it makes me feel happy, so promote happiness in American teenagers and please review. Thanks for reading!**


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